Section 2: General safety measures.

All equipment, machinery, installations and protective devices of any kind used on a worksite are examined before being put into service or recommissioned to ensure that they comply with the provisions of this chapter.

Examinations of equipment, machinery, installations or protective devices are repeated as often as necessary, in particular: 1° After each dismantling or modification, or when one of their parts has been replaced; 2° Following any malfunction which may or may not have led to an accident; 3° After any abnormal stress or incident that may have caused disorder in the installations.

Until the necessary examinations and repairs have been carried out, any equipment, machinery, installation or protective device found to be defective is withdrawn from service. Repaired equipment, machinery, installations or devices are permanently withdrawn from service.

The employer shall arrange for the examinations to be carried out by a competent person appointed for this purpose. The name and position of this person shall be recorded in a safety register. This register is kept at the worksite or, if this is not possible, at the establishment’s head office.

A register of observations is made available to employees and members of the social and economic committee. The latter shall record their observations concerning the condition of the equipment and installations, the existence of causes likely to compromise their solidity and the application of the provisions of this chapter. The employer may also record his observations.

The register of observations is kept at the disposal of the Labour Inspectorate, the Occupational Physician, agents of the Organisme Professionnel de Prévention du Bâtiment et des Travaux Publics, the prevention department of social security organisations and members of the inter-company college for safety, health and working conditions. It is kept on the worksite or, if this is not possible, at the establishment’s head office.